An AI-powered “pilot” went undefeated in five rounds of simulated dogfighting with a top Air Force pilot.
Fans of the Terminator franchise are familiar with Skynet, the artificial intelligence that turned on humanity, nearly wiping it out and sending the Terminators to eliminate human targets. Critics of AI have long claimed that it represents one of the greatest existential threats humanity has ever faced.
The latest development is not likely to assuage any concerns, as an AI performed flawlessly in simulated combat against a top Air Force pilot.
“The event was the culmination of an effort that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) began last year as an adjacent project to the larger Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program, which is focused on exploring how artificial intelligence and machine learning may help automate various aspects of air-to-air combat,” writes The Drive’s Joseph Trevithicka.
Originally, there were eight companies that were part of the competition. After flying against each other, Heron Systems came out on top and advanced to the final round where their AI beat the human pilot.
Should AI ever become a Skynet-like threat, it appears it won’t have any problem controlling the sky.